Revision/Preparation guidance
7. Academic writing
On this page are some examples of academic writing.
The first two examples are of routine 'essay' assessment writing (and include some indications of where additional referencing is expected). The paragraphs are excerpts from the introduction and conclusion of the same essay. While these are not ‘perfect’ examples, they demonstrate what to expect from a clear introduction and conclusion.
Examples three and four are of reflective, academic writing. Several of your assignments will require you to combine your personal experiences, with published literature (an evidence base) to explain how you have learned from your evolving physiotherapy practice. Below are two short excerpts from an essay that show what this sort of writing reads like, and how to combine personal and formal academic styles.
In examples three and four you will see there are numbers in superscript compared to numbers in brackets in examples one and two. The numbers denote references and is the Vancouver referencing convention that is adopted by the School of Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences (SRES). You will be excepted to use Vancouver for all academic work, and you'll be introduced to it in detail at the start of year one.
Example One. Introduction
This essay will consider the purpose of evidence-based practice (EBP) in physiotherapy and discuss the possible benefits of using a range of sources to obtain evidence in clinical practice ( REFERENCE HERE NEEDED). EBP has been defined by XXXX as XXXXXXXXX. The essay begins by describing and defining the key components of EBP, and the associated meaning of the words, ‘evidence’ and ‘research’. It then explains the ‘Hierarchy of Evidence’ (REFERENCE NEEDED HERE) and goes into detail about the rationale for the relative positions of research methods within the hierarchy. This essay concludes by considering complex systems ( REF NEEDED HERE) and the factors that impact the compliance or non-compliance of patients to their physiotherapy interventions ( REF NEEDED HERE). The intention of this essay is to educate the reader on vital components of safe clinical practice, such as the use of evidence-based practice, and to promote knowledge of the factors that might influence a patient’s exercise compliance, which should be considered when planning physiotherapy interventions to ensure efficiency of recovery.
Example Two. Conclusion
The purpose of this essay was to consider why evidence-based practice is used in physiotherapy, and to discuss the potential benefits of using a variety of sources to obtain evidence in clinical practice. To summarise, evidence-based practice comprises the combination and application of evidence from three sources: the ‘best available evidence’; clinical expertise; and patient preferences (1). It is imperative physiotherapists apply EBP during their practice to ensure the ‘best’, and safe treatment of a patient…………….This essay has presented essential information on the components of safe clinical practice, mainly the used of EBP, and some factors that may affect a patient’s exercise compliance.
Example Three. Reflective writing.
There were many notable differences between me and may patient. The most obvious was our age. He was forty years my senior. This is notable because research shows generational changes every twenty years can differ drastically, for example, changes in technology, educational standards and information sharing create different attitudes and expectations within society10. For example, on one occasion the patient mentioned some herbal remedies he wanted to rub on his weakened leg caused by his stroke, with the belief his father had told him the herb was special and was a proven remedy for recovery, whilst due to my atheism and my belief in science I believed that there was no evidence this herb would help resolve his weaknesses. On occasions like this, it is important to be adaptive, therefore I encouraged him to use the herb along with actioning physiotherapeutic treatment thus incorporating both our FOR to try and benefit his physical and psychological state2,5,10. Another example of differences is where we were both born and our religious beliefs, I was born in the UK and he was born and lived in Bangladesh for a Considerable l portion of his life. His FOR toward healthcare standards may be influenced by experiences in his own country where the standard of healthcare is not ranked as high as it is in the UK11. Furthermore, as I am an atheist, I believe that science is the key to healthcare whereas those who are religious may favour religious texts being of more importance than scientific evidence-based research papers.
Example four. Reflective writing
On one interaction I politely asked if it would be ok if I briefly spoke to his wife about the discharge plan. There were no female physiotherapists on the ward at the time I approached, and he responded with a blunt “no” and proceeded to refuse any further physiotherapeutic treatment for the rest of day. I later found out that some individual factors that made him reactive and dismissive of my help were that he was already upset at the time I spoke to him due to a negative interaction with a nurse some hours earlier. The cognitive-behaviour frame of reference theory incorporates how the aspect of emotional moods brought about from prior experiences can alter the way humans interact with each other, in this circumstance the previous experience he had in the day may have been projected onto me via a dismissive manner5.